Hi Everyone:
I am new here. I have been lurking on the board for a few days reading the posts, reading and learning a lot about some of the same issues (perfectionism, 2E, academic challenge) that I have been struggling with as I raise my kids. I have learned a lot from your posts, so thank you. It seems like such a wonderful, kind, helpful board. I would love to get your input.
I have a question I was hoping to get help with. (Actually I have a lot more but I don't have time to ask them all right now!) I wanted to see if you think it would be appropriate to re-test (perhaps with a different achievement test if re-doing the same one skews the results?) to see if my son would be eligible for the young scholars program.
My 8 y.o. son was given IQ and achievement tests by his school last year when he was being evaluated for OT. He scored above 99.9th percentile on the verbal comprehension portion of the WISC IV with a score of 152 (missed one question, well above the young scholars cut off) and 99.7 percentile on the reading portion of the WIAT-II, with a WIAT reading score of 142, just below the ditd young scholars cut off of 145. I think he could really benefit from the young scholars program, so I'd like to have him take another achievement test. He missed lunch by about two hours on both days of testing, so I figure he may have just been one PBJ sandwich away from eligibility. What are your thoughts and do you know of any testers in NYC who would do this?
Also, he has a tendency not to want to try anything in front of anyone else that he hasn't already mastered. I think he is afraid to try anything where he won't look smart or where he might have to struggle just a bit. (The school district tester noted in her report that he would not attempt any math problems he had not been taught.) I am looking for a tester that could coax him to try new things. He did score 98th percentile on the WIAT math reasoning subsection.
Ever since we became aware of the perfectionism issue, we have tried to praise effort and stretching rather than inherent intellect. Lest we seem like pushy parents who have created this perfectionist child, let me explain we have never tried to push any academics or particular achievement but rather have let him delve into whatever intense interest he has at the moment. All we told him about this test was that he did really well.
At any rate, do you think it would be worth re-testing? Can you recommend anyone in the NYC area? I'll follow up on other days with some of my other questions.
Thanks,
POJ
